In Olive Kitteridge by Elizabeth Strout, the title character distinguishes between Big Bursts (like weddings, births, etc.) and Small Bursts (everyday events that are sustaining in different ways). I will have to go back to the book to see exactly what she says about them, but it got me thinking about the bursts in my life. Here is one I shared with book club:
After eating an austere lunch of cottage cheese and carrots I decided to treat myself to a bag of Fritos from the vending machine at work. Unfortunately, my bag snagged on the mechanism, trembling there out of reach. I gave the machine a few tentative shoves to no avail. I was about to convince myself that it was all for the best (healthwise) when a stranger saw my dilemma and gleefully rocked the machine until the bag dropped free. Hell’s bells, as Olive would say. This episode improved my outlook for the whole afternoon.
Olive did not mention medium bursts, but I will have to start a category like that for having my new/used motorcycle discovered, test-driven, and delivered to me this Saturday by JT, the perfect stranger.
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